My paintings are about illustrating and presenting unavoidable natural realities by utilizing mundane objects as symbols. The realities constantly challenge our existence and are powerful enough to be beyond our control, always offering more to wonder and question. Such as the rise and fall of a garden in the span of summer it offers sustenance but requires toil for any reward of consumption. Within this cycle all allegorical manners of life occur, crossing paths, pursuits of enlightenment, conflicts of survival, and the passing of time.

I attempt to present this in a quiet traditional manner, creating paintings that are calm, balanced in composition, and contain soft palettes that are reflective of the subject matter. I am and can be guilty of influence from the following: the Dutch 17th century “vanitas” genre, post war pop art, Americana, nostalgia, romanticism, naturalism, music, contemporary painting, and good books, (which is subjective). I view drawing as the core root of my paintings in oil and currently render from observation/life by setting up each painting scene with actual objects when available. I involve myself in all aspects of the process, building canvases, researching props, and milling out custom frames.

I spent the early part of my life being raised by two young hippies involved in the early seventies “back to the land” movement in the northern woods/Lake Superior region of Wisconsin and the coastal range foothills of the Willamette Valley in Oregon. As time passed, hanging out on National Forest logging roads, canoeing inland lakes, having bonfires in the winter snow, and becoming a young adult, I struck out to attend art school in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. There I drew extensively and learned traditional sculpture techniques. After receiving my BFA, I returned to Oregon and began working in a fine art bronze foundry. I spent a decade in the foundry world making master molds, welding together statuary and doing all things involved in bronze foundry work. In the evening hours I pursued painting and created series of paintings in which, I began to exhibit in a variety of venues and out of the back of my truck at art walks. This approach slowly resulted in gained exposure and gallery representation/shows. In the late-2000’s I decided to focus entirely on my own work and paint full time. I share a home with my two children in southeast Portland and work as a professional painter creating and exhibiting series of paintings, and completing commissions/freelance work for a variety of clients.